Sideshow Burgers

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Imagine being tucked up on the couch when the tummy rumbles hit. The Netflix series is so spellbinding you don't feel like pausing it long enough to get up and cook something and going out on such a relaxing night seems a travesty.

You want food that will extend the glory of the moment. Comfort food for a comfortable dressing-gown-night-in. Lucky for some, they can press UberEats and order from Sideshow Burgers, a new burger eatery in Rosanna which has a shop front but is also doing a thriving online-delivery trade.

The food arrives and it is a towering glory. Who could resist ordering the ever-popular Carnival shown below?

It is a mountain-sized showstopper of perfectly crisp fries loaded with a goodness-oozing cheese sauce, crispy squares of bacon, onions, jalapenos, chipotle mayo and a sprinkling of Furikake (Japanese seasoning containing speckles of fine dried seaweed, sesame seeds and salt).

You sink into the cushions and continue your relaxing night in. You perhaps share this dish and a side of battered onion rings. The onion so perfectly cooked you can prise a perfectly formed round out with your teeth.

But you have decided the burger is yours alone. You've ordered the popular 'Sideshow' ($10) which is a large 'Angus beef patty topped with cheese, crispy butter lettuce, tangy pickle and the perfect accompaniments of mustard, kewpie mayo, ketchup and onion'.

The bun is a creation all on its own. A smooth glossy crust and a soft heart. Your burger is another toppling Tower of Pisa creation that you can just get your lips around.

Occasionally you sip on the sweetness of an old school salted-caramel milkshake. No matter your age, a milkshake like this one always brings home contentment filled childhood memories.

You might wonder briefly about the name Sideshow given that the food is such a main attraction before falling backwards like Alice in Wonderland into your cushions, your gripping show and the bliss of your food.

Of course, whether you can get this meal delivered to you depends on how local you are. This scenario is certainly feasible if you live in suburbs such as Bulleen, Viewbank, Rosanna and Heidelberg.

But don't fret as you can visit. We live in Box Hill and it was only an 18-minute drive door-to-door. And on weekends, it is always great to explore new areas of Melbourne, especially when a new eatery is involved. In fact, we sealed a perfect sunny day and our lovely meal with an after lunch walk through Heide Sculpture Park and Gardens.

If heading to Rosanna, then Sideshow Burgers is easy to spot with its red ruffled verandah roof echoing a Big Top circus tent. It is also just a few doors down from a Rosanna institution, Miss Marie Cafe which we couldn't pass by without getting our morning coffee fix.

In fact, both Miss Marie and Sideshow burgers are owned by Abhish Gupta and Julian Chew. The guys had already trialled their burgers at their successful three-year-long pop-up burger night at Lip Cafe in Ivanhoe.

They have 20 years of hospitality experience, having both worked in kitchens across Melbourne. Chew began his apprenticeship in 2000 at ARIA with Matt Moran and then moved onto Da Noi in South Yarra where he met Gupta. He then opened his first cafe, Eat a Scroll Bakehouse in Collingwood which he later sold.

We were lucky to meet Chew but found him training up new staff and flipping burgers at Sideshow. He had time for a chat and a photo.

Julian Chew enjoys talking about ingredients, his business model and where he hopes to take Sideshow Burgers in the future. You never know it might be a suburb near you. Photo Nadine Cresswell-Myatt.

He was animated and informative when we asked him about the concept of the eatery which is quite striking with its circus theme of elephants, ringmasters and crazy looking clowns. While he didn't design the amazing paper covered wall, he came up with the concept and it certainly helped that he also has a degree in interior design. "Not everyone will get the concept," he said. "But it is a throwback to the 90s and the Simpsons and a reference to the character Side Show Bob."

I looked him up later and found that he was Krusty the Clown's sidekick and Bart Simpson's archnemesis and turned from children's performer to criminal mastermind.

While much of this was lost on me, I was there for his burger moment and certainly got it and was impressed with the reference.

With such an expansive background in restaurants, the menu at Sideshow Burgers is built from the bun up with the best of ingredients. "We use Brassiere Bakery an artisan bakery's' specialist buns, good quality Angus beef, and crisp butter lettuce heads."

The concept is all about keeping it simple. There are five burgers on the menu. here is the Sideshow burger pictured above, but you can also get this as a Strong Man version with a double beef pattie.